


When They Were Young

by zarabithia



Category: Avengers (Comic), Marvel, Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: Future Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-04
Updated: 2010-02-04
Packaged: 2017-10-07 00:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone grows old, eventually, including heroes. The Young Avengers never forget their roots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When They Were Young

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for the comment_fic prompt: _"They may walk with a little less spring in their step, and the ranks are growing thinner, but let us never forget, when they were young, these men saved the world." ~ Bill Clinton, on the Greatest Generation_

~

Steve's body never quite recovered from the torment of the last time he'd died and come back. The super-soldier serum in his veins has been steadily declining with each passing day. There are lines and wrinkles on that old, wise face, making Steve Rogers finally look every one of his advanced years. He doesn't complain, and on the contrary, most observers notice a calm sense of acceptance - almost relief - as his years finally begin to catch up to him.

Relief or not, every Monday, Eli takes the time out of his day to visit Steve. Eli brings extra pen and paper, and sits patiently while the wrinkly hands sketch out details of battles gone by.

~

All it takes is one tragic battle to steal Clint's eyesight away from him. An archer without his eyes is pretty useless to his team, and the temper has long since driven away his wife, and any hope of producing offspring to look after him in his old age.

But every Tuesday, Kate takes time away from the charity drives and patrol to visit the former Hawkeye. She ignores his temperamental outburst, removes his bow from her shoulder, and places it in his lap. She ignores the tears of gratitude that don't quite fall, as he holds that bow, and she tells him about the rest of the Avengers.

~

Hank's heart problems, when they reassert themselves, aren't exactly a surprise. His body has had a long history of having difficulty adjusting to the size changing nature of his superpowers, and in the end, his body finally gives up. The fact that Jan isn't there to hold his hand and nurse him through it probably makes the decision to give up all the easier. The relief on his face is similar to that of Steve's, for reasons that aren't at all different.

Cassie and Jonas sit by his bedside on the terrible Wednesday that the man breathes his last breath. Jonas squeezes her hand, as Cassie kisses her uncle's head goodbye, and hopes that her father and Jan are both waiting on him.

~

She still has all her powers, and the ability to use them. But a lifetime of fear, ultimately manifesting in the few, tragic years in which even her friends turned their backs on her with the belief that she'd hurt them has made Wanda reluctant to use them. She spends her most recent years alone, in a small mountain cabin, far out of the way of most of civilization. Sometimes, her brother stops by and tries to entice her back into the life they had once lived, but Wanda smiles at him, offers him a bite to eat, and declines the offer.

On Thursdays, Billy drops by. He brings that nice young green fellow he married, and the son they adopted. Wanda's grandson is a nice boy with a place on his football team and doesn't have so much as a solitary magical power or any other interest in the life his parents and grandparents led. Still, he actively participates in the tales of families, lost and found and lost again, that last until long after Thursday turns to Friday morning.

~

Bucky dies the second time the same way history recorded his original death. He dies a hero.

That should make it easier, but it doesn't. Rikki still visits Bucky's grave, and grieves for a man who had shared her last name. Like clockwork, come hell or high water (or apocalypse) a wreath of flowers is laid at his tombstone every Friday afternoon.

~

Saturday is the busiest day for the Avengers museum. The staff both love and hate the fuss that can result on that particular day of the week.

But the public can't get enough of the current Avengers stopping by to say a few words about their predecessors. The Avengers themselves - particularly the small, core group that used to be the Young Avengers - never complain about the hassle, so any complaints the staff has go unmentioned.

~

The actions Tony Stark took in order to save the lives of his friends have long-lasting consequences, and the memory goes first, taking motor functions and other vital skills along with them.

Tommy doesn't have a whole lot of ties to the man, beyond the woman that Billy claims as their mother. But he does know what Tony Stark sacrificed to make up for a mistake, and well, Tommy _knows_ mistakes. He knows that better than any of the current Avengers ever could. Stark fucked up, but he's paid one hell of a price for it.

Tommy thinks that's worth an occasional Sunday visit.

Because the world might take turns ignoring, shaming, or dismissing Stark's efforts, but back when Stark and the rest of the Avengers that don't exist anymore had been young - and Tommy's team even _younger_ \- they had saved the world.


End file.
